As the storm cleared, so did the team’s pitching woes
A pitcher’s duel inside the dome
The first glimpse of the Miami Marlins’ ballpark is quite jarring. They called it “contemporary architecture” when they planned the stadium in 2009 whereas many of the 20 or so stadiums built right before this time (dating back to Camden Yards) gave a nod to the nostalgic ballparks of decades past. The silver color and art forms of this ballpark give it a sleek, cool look without going overboard. However, its dome-like construction and layers of lines and ceilings make it stand out as soon as you get close to Miami.
Jeffrey Loria, who owned the team until he sold it to a group led by Derek Jeter in 2017, wanted the stadium to have a Miami feel so there are various art displays, palm trees, and pastel walls.
However, in the past few years, a lot has changed, so much so that it felt almost like a new park when compared to the one I had previously seen in Marlins games on TV. The (controversial) home-run statue in the outfield stands has been removed, and so has the fish tank behind home plate. The bright apple green of the seats has been replaced with an admittedly much improved navy, and overall, the park feels much more toned-down and muted than
I was expecting. The biggest change to the Marlins Park was probably its name, as it became LoanDepot Park in 2021. I understand that it is a prudent financial decision to sell off the name of the park, but I certainly prefer a name that doesn’t cause you to cringe. Safeco Field? Sure. LoanDepot Park? No way. I am not the only one with this criticism, as they received much backlash at the time of renaming.
As for the game, the Marlins were taking on my hometown team, the New York Mets. It was stormy weather in the morning, but by game time, the weather had improved, though they didn’t open the retractable roof.
It was Jorge Alfaro bobblehead day! Unfortunately, Alfaro is on the Injured List and is in the minors on a rehab assignment. That had to be incredibly disappointing for him. As a team, the Marlins had ten straight losing records until barely breaking .500 last year and snuck into the playoffs. They came in here at 20-24 with the Mets in first place at 21-17. The Mets have been ravaged with injuries but have somehow found a way to stay up in the standings.
Pablo Lopez was pitching for the Marlins.
I was glad to see that as there has been a buzz about him for a couple of years now and I never saw him pitch before. Besides the usual fastball, curve and change-up, he also throws a pitch that is like a reverse curve as it breaks sharply in the opposite direction of a traditional curve. Pablo used it effectively with two strikes and threw it for at least a few strikeouts. Fun fact: Pablo was accepted into medical school at age 16. Amazing!
The Mets were sending out Joey Lucchesi who, after a promising rookie year for the Padres, hasn’t been very good in the last couple of years. He came into this game with an awful 9 ERA. He has herky-jerky motion that is likely confusing to opposing batters. He set down the Marlins in order in the first inning and I wondered why he wasn’t more successful than he is. He ended up only giving up one hit over four innings but they, oddly enough, lifted him for a pinch hitter in the top of the 5th.
An unusual feature of the ballpark is that they have a DJ that plays fun music between batters. It’s a refreshing change from the canned pop music at other parks.
I did get the Jorge Alfaro bobblehead
but another cool feature of the game is that they have a bobblehead museum! There are hundreds of cool bobbleheads.
The coolest one? Probably Jim Leyland’s Marlins one, as he led the Marlins to a 1997 World Series victory.
There was no scoring at all until the bottom of the seventh. With first and third and one out, the Marlins hit a fly ball to left field. Cameron Maybin made a perfect throw to the plate and the umpire was ready to call him out but the catcher, Nido, dropped the ball. It was an exciting bang-bang play.
The Mets quickly tied the game in the next inning and the game came down to the bottom of the 9th with the Marlins looking for the walk-off. And with two outs and two strikes, Garrett Cooper who had two previous hits in the game hit a no-doubter to left-center field.
The walk-off home run is always an exciting event and the hometown fans went home happy. It was pretty interesting to see that there were almost as many Mets fans as Marlins fans, and the Mets fans were certainly louder. I hope to see some more Marlins fans get into future games as the Marlins’ young stars continue to develop!
coryattheballpark 